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Dallat meets health chiefs to address community care crisis

SDLP East Derry MLA John Dallat has met with officials in the Northern Health Trust to address the crisis in community care.

Mon 11th January

After the meeting, which Mr Dallat described as ‘robust’, he said:

 

“I was accompanied to this meeting by one family whose 90 year old mother cannot secure help with personal care before midday despite intensive lobbying by me over several months.

 

“This is an appalling situation which raises serious concerns about how older people in particular are to be cared for in the community.

 

“Officials refused to accept that they are waiting for people to die so that resources can be freed up to pass on to others urgently needing enhanced community care packages.

 

“This week I met the Personal Advisor to the Minister of health, Michael McGimpsey, at Stormont to put in perspective the seriousness of the situation in terms of cash shortages and the absence of trained personnel to deliver community care packages.

 

“During a Ministerial Statement on Draft Expenditure Plans for 2010-2011 the first opportunity in the New Year arose to highlight yet again the crisis in the Health Service which has fallen so heavily on the most vulnerable members of our community.

 

“Rather than dealing with bread and butter issues which affect ordinary people day and daily the Assembly is constantly locked in crisis over the personal problems of individuals and their political parties.  That must move on so that the institution is serving the needs of people rather than being involved in crisis-management of those who are hogging the limelight for all the wrong reasons.”

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